Rake-cleaner.



e. A. SEBELIU$. RAKE CLEANER.

APPLIOATIGN FILED FEB. 11,1914.

Patented Oct. '6, 1914.

THE NokR/s PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LI THO., WASHINGTON, D (1 GILL- A.SEBELIUS, OF OVERLY, NORTH DAKDTA.

RAKE-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

Application filed February 11, 1914. Serial No. 818,096.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GILL A. SEBELIUs, acitizen of the United States, residing at Overly, in the county ofBottineau and State of North Dakota, have invented cer-, tain new anduseful Improvements in Rake- Cleaners; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact'description of the invention,such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in rakes ,and moreparticularly to a rake cleaner which may be operated to strip the raketeeth of trash or other foreign matter which may have gathered thereon,in a reliable and expeditious manner.

An important object of my invention is to provide a rake cleaner of thecharacter described which is constructed so that it may be readilylooked in inoperative position so that accidental downward movement ofthe rake stripping means is preventedwhile the rake is being used toperform its usual functions. Another important object of my invention isto provide a rake cleaner of the character described which is simple asto construction, reliable and efficient in operation, capable of beingreadily attached to all characters of rakes and cheap to manufacture.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the followingspecification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims whichare appended hereto and form a part ofthis application.

WVith reference to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated thepreferred embodiment of my invention as it is reduced to practice, andthroughout the several views of which similar reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts: the figure represents a perspective viewof my improved rake cleaner showing the stripping bar in an up andinoperative position.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1designates a handle that is secured at one end to securing bars 2 and 3that are carried by the rake head 4:- This rake head 41 carries theusual teeth 5.

Slidably mounted upon the teeth 5 is a stripping bar 6 having aplurality of teeth receiving apertures 7 formed therein. The rear edgeof this stripping bar 6 is extended inwardly beyond the inner edge ofthe head 4 and has secured thereto upwardly converging supporting arms 8and 9 which are 'formed integral and provide a Ushaped portion 10 attheir upper terminals. The lower terminals of the supporting bars 8 and9 are provided with lateral apertured extensions 11 to receive fasteningmeans for the purpose of securing the arms to the strip ping bar.

An upstanding bracket or standard 12 is secured around the inner end ofthe handle 1 by means of a securing ring or collar 13 formed on thelower end of the standard and clamped on the handle 1. Pivoted at theupper or outer end of the standard 12 as at 1 1 is a bell crank lever 15that is pivotally secured at one end as at 16 within the U- shapedportion 10 at the upper portions of the arms 8 and 9. Theother terminalof this bell crank lever 15 is pivotally connected as at 17 with anoperating rod 18 that is mounted longitudinally of and upon the handle 1and provided with a loop at its outer end forming a hand grip 19.

A bracket 20 formed of a single piece of metal is clamped upon thehandle 1 at a point intermediate the ends of the operating rod 18 and isoffset at its upper portion to provide a loop 21 through which the rod18 is inserted. The rod 18 is offset intermediate its ends to provide astop shoulder 22 that is arranged to cooperate with the bracket 20 tohold the stripping bar 6 in normal position as will be clearly seen withreference to the drawing. That portion of the rod 18 comprehendedbetween the shoulder 22 and hand grip 19 is, when the stripping bar isin normal position, disposed in engagement with the lower face of theloop 21 while the shoulder 22 engages the portion of the bracketcomprehended between its secured portion and the loop and thus isprevented the outward movement necessary to bring about the downwardmovement of the stripping bar 6.

It will thus be seen that accidental operation of the stripping barwhile the rake is being used to perform its ordinary or usual function,is prevented.

To strip the teeth of trash or other foreign matter which may havecollected thereon, the rod 18 is moved upwardly so that the shoulder 22is free to slide through the loop 21 and the rod is pulled outwardlycausing the bell crank to be operated so that the end thereof that issecured as at 16 to the Ushaped portions 10 on the arms 8 and 9 is moveddownwardly causing the stripper bar to be moved toward the outer end ofthe teeth 5. After the cleaning operation the rod is set as shown in thefigure in the drawing to hold the stripping bar in an out of the wayposition.

It will be readily seen with reference to the foregoing description andaccompanying drawings that I have provided a simple, in-

expensive and effectual rake cleaner which may be readily attached torakes of all characters in a reliable and expeditious manner. Thebracket 20 and standard 12 are detachably secured in any suitable mannerupon the handle 1 and the other parts may be likewise detachably securedso as to facilitate an expeditious attaching and detaching of the deviceupon rakes of different characters.

In reduction to practice, I. have found that the form of my invention,illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, asthe preferred embodiment, is the most eflicient and practical; yetrealizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my devicewill necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minorchanges in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of theadvantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is l. A rake cleaner comprising a stripping bar, a pairof upwardly converging arms secured upon said stripping bar and formedintegral at their upper terminals, a bell crank operatively connectedwith said rake and the upper terminals of said arms, an operating rodoperatively connected with said bell crank, a bracket mounted upon saidrake and slidably receiving said rod and a stop shoulder formed on saidrod arranged to cooperate with said bracket to hold said stripping barin inoperative position.

2. The combination with a rake comprising a handle having a headcarrying teeth thereon of a stripping bar slidably mounted upon saidteeth, a pair of upwardly converging arms secured upon said gripping barand formed integral at their upper terminals, a standard secured uponand eX- tending at right angles to said handle, a bell crank pivoted onsaid standard and having one terminal pivotally connected with the upperterminals of said arms, a bracket mounted upon said handle, an operatingrod slidable through said bracket and pivotally connected at oneterminal with said bell crank, said rod being offset intermediate itsends to provide a .stop shoulder arranged to cooperate with said bracketto hold the stripping bar in inoperative position, and a hand gripformed on the free end of said rod and disposed adjacent to the free endof said rake handle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GILL A. SEBELIUS.

each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

